My 1 year old grandson is allergic to corn,oats, and squash (that we know of). Him and I have seriously only had 3 full nights of sleep since he was place in our custody at 5 weeks old and have only figured out a couple months ago that it is because of the corn allergy (the formula's he was on and the ascorbic acids in the baby food fruits). His problems have gotten even worse now that he is eating more table food and trying to switch him from formula to whole milk has become a living nightmare! All last winter his cheeks looked like they were on fire and he would ALWAYS cry immediately after having a bottle. I have now noticed that his reactions are getting worse. His face is again always red, sometimes hives all over, but also now the bottoms of his feet and the palms of his hands and fingers keep getting bright red and hot when he is having a reaction. Last week at his 12 month checkup we were given and epi pen but were never really told much else. I have pics of him where his face is actually swelling up. What is an anaphilactic reaction? When do we take him to get checked out by a doc? The hardest question of all is what do we feed this little boy? I would really appreciate any advice or suggestions! Thanks.

If you were prescribed an Epipen, was he seen by an allergist? The Epipen prescription means that he is at risk of an anaphylaxis reaction. Reactions can be swift and unpredictable. Swelling of the tongue, throat etc can block off the airway; massive swelling of tissue both externally and internally (which you won't know about) can draw so much fluid as to cause a dangerous drop in blood pressure. Organ failure can occur.

I'm not telling you this to scare you but to point out the dangers of minimizing the reaction. Our daughters had reactions where her face swelled up and others with minimal swelling but loss of consciousness.

If you suspect a reaction do not wait for it to progress, give the Epipen and call 911. The Epipen's medicine will not harm him if the reaction is mild and it wasn't needed.

I'm so sorry to hear about your grandson. Please read all of the posts under corn allergy. There is so much hidden corn and by the sounds of it your grandson is hyper sensitive (like myself). I used to get the flaming red face and swelling of my face as well. I remember waking up some mornings and looking in the mirror and not recognizing myself. This was before I learned about all of the names for corn and how it is hidden in food.

Here are some of the things you will need to change right away.

You will need to find some "unenriched" milk. Do not give him milk that has any vitamins added. I know that in the U.S. you can buy milk without the vitamins. Here in Canada it is illegal to buy or sell unfortified milk so I have to used unfortified goats milk.

All baked goods will contain corn. Try finding some unenriched flour and do your own baking using safe butter (if you can find it) or extra virgin olive oil. Most processed oils will contain corn derived citric acids as a degumming agent. Baking powder is another problem...it contains corn starch. I skip it and only use baking soda.

You will need to make all of his food from scratch using whole foods without any additives/preservatives.

Table salt has corn in it. Redmond's Natural Sea Salt is Safe.

I think I've posted most of this under hidden corn. Make sure you find the dreaded corn allergy list which has about 180 different names for corn on it. You will need to check each and every thing you buy to make sure these corny additives are not listed. Also remember that "processing agents" do not need to be listed. Sometimes something will look safe but isn't.

My heart goes out to you. There are so many new babies with corn allergy.

Susan- what you have told me doesn't scare me any worse than watching Keegan eat every meal or drink every bottle! I think what makes me feel so helpless right now is the fact that he can't talk yet to tell us just how his reactions are. I have to depend on if his face is red after putting anything in his mouth or if he's suddenly, nonstop rubbing his eyes or ears after eating something. My gut instinct (from how he acts) is that his reactions are actually worse than what I think they are.

Yes he has an allergist, but due to having to change insurance, he can't see him until Nov.2nd. We are in having daily contact with his pediatrician,but I get the feeling she has never treated a child with a corn allergy before. I do have a trainer for the epi pen(it came with the prescription.

Eldi- Thank you for your suggestions. Now a stupid question! What is unenriched milk? Rice milk? Goats milk? and what should I do about the vitamins that he does need with only being a year old??

The baking part is easy (I love to bake). I don't cook with table salt as I have heart failure and any salt is a no no. And I have already printed the corn allergy list and always carry it with me ( I even gave Keegan's doctor a copy of it!)

I am so thankful that Keegan is such a happy go lucky little boy and even though he is clearly miserable at times, it doesn't seem to get him down!

Unenriched milk is milk that does not have added vitamin A & D. These vitamins are in a corn oil carrier. Have you come across the list of corn free foods yet? I posted it somewhere in the corn allergy forum. There are some brands of milk in the U.S. that do not have added vitamins. I just can't think of the names off hand.

Same goes for rice milk, soy milk, etc. Most of them are also enriched with vitamins. I'm sure that you already know that sweeteners and flavourings are almost always made from corn and many of these other milks can be sweetened and flavoured. I use one kind of soy milk that is only soy and water.

It's going to be difficult to find vitamins without corn. There might be some listed on the same corn-free list. I had to give up on vitamins decades ago because of reactions to them.

As for why more people (including babies) are becoming allergic to corn, I believe it is because it is being put into/onto almost every food you could imagine. I find it a daily struggle to avoid corn.

I have been allergic since infancy as well. I'm not sure if the corn syrup in my (at that time homemade) formula triggered this allergy or if I was born with it. From what my mother has told me I was also a very, very sick baby. However, as soon as she took me off the corny formula and put me on straight milk (no added vitamins at that time) I made a miraculous recovery!

OMG!! I took Keegan off real milk and formula on wednesday and tried him on Meyenberg Powdered Goat Milk. For the 1st time since he was born (13 months ago) he slept 10 hours straight!! Last night was even better...11 hours straight!! I spoke directly with that company and they told me that even the powered goat milk had absolutely no exposure to any corn products before I tried him on this. His face is not turning the least bit pink with this! Now I have to contact WIC because the Meyenberg web site says their milk is WIC approved in Michigan!

OMG!! I took Keegan off real milk and formula on wednesday and tried him on Meyenberg Powdered Goat Milk. For the 1st time since he was born (13 months ago) he slept 10 hours straight!! Last night was even better...11 hours straight!!

Bonzosgramma,
I can't help you with the corn issue but I can send you a HUGE HUG! You are doing amazing!!! Keegan is lucky to have such an wonderful grama. Hang in there and if you need any extra advise or just to vent be sure to post in the shopping, other allergic topics or parents forum. You'll be amazed how many people will respond if you have any questions or concerns....or just to vent.
I can say that as far as nutrition, just go for now with what he will eat safely. Our son's allergies started at 6 months, to this day he hardly eats at all. I was getting so upset trying to figure out how to balance his diet I was making myself crazy. Now I am just grateful if he eats enough in one day to 'kind of' fill his tummy. I am so happy you found the goats milk which seems to agree with Keegan's. Nothing like a good night's sleep .

Thanks everyone! Yes, sleep is a wonderful thing. Now I have to retrain my body to start sleeping through the night!! It's still on Keegans old sleep schedule!! I was able to get his WIC changed over today for the goat milk and we can keep getting the Meyenberg brand already mixed up!! He had a mild reaction today (to some crumbs from the dogs bone) but at least it was very mild! He is like a whole different kid after only 2 days!! I know it's gonna be alot of trial and error but thanks to the lists Eldi pointed me to I have been able to find more things what will be safe for him to eat!Thanks again everyone.

I wish the people at Health Canada could read Keegan's story. About 10 years ago I had several conversations with someone at Health Canada about my reactions to the corn oil in milk. I was flatly told that I COULD NOT react to the corn oil in milk because it did not contain any protein. My question was...how would I have even guessed that there WAS corn oil in milk if I wasn't reacting to it???? The label only says that there are vitamins (A & D) added...there is no mention of corn oil (or corn derived propylene glycol for that matter). At that point I knew I wasn't allergic to milk...just the corny stuff they were adding to it.

Makes you wonder how many other kids out there are suffering because nobody knows that there is corn oil in milk. Or...for that matter...hidden corn in hundreds of other foods.

Doctors are so frustrating! Today the pediatrician tried to tell me that Keegan shouldn't be drinking Goat milk because he won't get the vitamins he needs! She feels that because he can't talk supplemental vitamins due to the corn allergy, he should try either soy or rice milk. After having it out with her I did some investigating online and found some articles about rice milk. It seems that the American Pediatics Assocation no longer backs the recomendation of rice milk for toddlers, siting many case of malnutrition due to rice milk not having the proper vitamins! WIC here in the states won't even cover Rice Milk, yet they have absolutely no problem with whole goat milk! Does anyone know of any multivitamin suppliments that would be safe for children with corn allergies? My view( and I told the Dr. this) If his body is having such a hard time with all the other milk products (other than goat milk) than there are good chances that he's not absorbing the nutrients he needs from them anyways. I refuse to continue giving him something that is doing him more harm than good. My husband and I decided that he is staying on the goat milk. He's doing better over the past week than he's done in 13 months. It has to be doing something good for him.

I also had a compounding pharmasist today tell me that I was out of my mind about the ingredients of benedryl being corn derivatives! (So called professionals are not high on my likabitly list today) LOL

On a great note: I found a butcher shop in town today that does not add a single thing to their meats!! They butcher it and put it in the meat case and that is it!!! Keegan had fresh meat tonight and for the first time had NO reaction to it whatsoever!!!!

I count at least 5 of the non-medicinal ingredients that are/can be made from corn. I think you should take a copy of the list of corn derivatives and give it to that pharmacist. Sheeeeesh....it says "starch"....and we all know that the starch used in most medicine is made from corn.

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